Cedarburg, Grafton considering switch to lake water

Cedarburg and Grafton residents will be asked to decide in the next year if their communities should end use of wells and switch to Lake Michigan as their source of water within 10 years. »Read Full Article

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3.4 million gallons a day? Wow! That's a lot. It would be nice if municipalities drawing water from the lake were also required to maintain a municipal groundwater system. Inevitably, we're going to drain the lake like we've done with groundwater. When it gets to that point, everyone is going to want to switch back to groundwater. Water distribution to municipalities should be operated by some regional entity to spread out/lower the cost of lake water infrastructure, while individual municipalities should also be charged with simultaneously maintaining groundwater infrastructure. Is this going to cost more? You bet, but it's responsible and why should municipalities nearest the lake get to exclusively use all that water? You want to tap into the most valuable natural resource in the world (other than oil, but you can't drink oil)? You're going to have to pay for it and be responsible in how you use it. I think the higher prices would make water customers think twice about watering their lawns in a drought.

For the record, I'm not some environmental wacko, I just think there needs to be proper planning and policy. All that freshwater is going to be a major economic development/quality of life factor someday.

Mr. Taskmaster: The treated sewer water goes somewhere; most likely Lake Michigan via the Milwaukee River. So if Grafton and Cedarburg take their water from Lake Michigan, they won't drain it. They will use it, treat it, and return it; except for what evaporates as a result of lawn and garden watering, the treatment process, etc.

The problem with groundwater is that the water is taken from the ground and very little if any is returned to the aquifier ... almost all of it is treated and dumped into a river and ultimately to Lake Michigan.

If you're concerned about "draining Lake Michigan" ... then complain about Chicago which gets all of its water from Lake Michigan, uses it, "treats" it (probably Chicago style), and then puts it into the Chicago River Ship and Sanitary Canal which takes it to the Mississippi River and ulitmately to the Gulf of Mexico! Be MORE concerned about Chicago and little old Grafton and Cedarburg.

Disclosure ... I live in the Town of Cedarburg, private well and septic, we recycle all our water back into the ground!

Good idea for Ozaukee County to make moves to stay independent of Milwaukee County. Let the enlightened hand out society wallow in it's "superiority" without financial backing from the productive class.

Mr. Behm: Why would Grafton and Cedarburg have to build a treatment plant? Don't both Grafton and Cedarburg have treatment plants that put the treated water into the Milwaukee River now? Why spend money on treatment plants.

Put the cost into perspective. How much money does the around $100 million cost amount to for each home/business in the Grafton/Cedarburg service area.